๐ Blend & filters
Even the same preset looks totally different when you change how it stacks (blend) and its color effects (filter) ๐ The two big knobs for the look.
The difference to keep in mind ๐
- Blend = pick one (switches how things stack)
- Filter = stack several (layers color effects)
๐จ Blend = how visuals "stack"
Sets how p5 layers mix onto the MilkDrop underneath (and the p5 layers below). PC = โ / Mobile = swipe up โ๏ธ cycles through them (always exactly one active).
| Mode | Look | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| lighten (default) | The brighter one wins. A calm stack | When in doubt. Works with almost anything โจ |
| add | Brightness adds up, so overlaps glow | Neon, particles, or fire over a dark MilkDrop ๐ฅ |
| diff | The difference in brightness. Overlaps invert into psychedelic colors | When you want a twist ๐ |
| trail | Stacks like lighten, and bright lines and particles leave trails | Moving things like meteors and particles ๐ |
When it applies
- Blend only matters while p5 layers are stacked. With MilkDrop alone, nothing changes
- It does not affect how Deck A and B mix (the crossfader)
- In all four modes, the p5 layer's black background drops out, so the MilkDrop underneath shows
- add blows out easily when bright meets bright, so it dims automatically as you stack more (85% for one layer, 60% for two...)
- Some p5 presets (the ones using WebGL) don't leave trails with trail
๐ก Lost? Back to lighten โ it's basically a reset. add to make things glow, diff to break them up, trail to show motion.
What happened to normal, exclusion, color-dodge, thru, and auto?
They were hard to tell apart, so they are off the screen now. If a saved โ FAV or a MIDI mapping picks one, it still works as before.
โจ Filter = color effects
Changes the color of the whole screen (MilkDrop and p5 together). PC = โ / Mobile = swipe down ๐ cycles them. And you can stack several ๐๏ธ
| Filter | Effect |
|---|---|
| invert | Invert colors. A big change for a drop |
| hue-rotate | Rotates hue halfway around (reds go teal) |
| saturate | More saturation (vivid) |
| grayscale | Black & white |
| contrast | More contrast. Looks tighter |
- The trick: you can stack them. Combine them for your own look
- Selecting a filter that is already ON turns it off (it's a toggle). Lost? Select each ON filter again to get back to off
- brightness and sepia from before still work when a saved โ FAV or a MIDI mapping picks them
๐ฌ Combos to try first
- grayscale + invert ๐ inverted black & white. Good for a break before the peak
- hue-rotate + saturate ๐ a loud color swap
- Set the blend to add to make overlaps glow
After that, don't memorize recipes. Try combinations and find what feels good for the preset you are using. Different presets like different pairings.
๐ก Blend (how it stacks) ร filter (color) multiply out to more looks than there are presets ๐
๐ Related
- Add layers to blend โ ๐จ Presets
- Mix different looks between A/B โ ๐ฑ Deck A/B
- Blend photos and logos โ ๐ผ๏ธ Images
- Process video footage โ ๐ฌ Video
- Switch modes from a knob โ ๐น MIDI